From God we Came and to Him is our Return
As we were visited with the news of Governor Aminu Tambuwal going into self-isolation earlier on Friday, the sober and heart wrenching news of the death of the pioneer governor of the old Sokoto state, retired Commissioner of Police and Jarman Gombe, Alhaji Usman Faruk also came knocking.
As the first Military Governor of North-Western State, comprising the present-day Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto and Zamfara states from 1967 to 1975, late Faruk laid the foundation for the development of our dear state, long after it was weaned from the tutelage of the late Sardauna of Sokoto, when it was subsumed as part of the monolithic Northern State.
His was the first budget in 1971 that started the old North-Western state on its journey to fiscal clarity and discipline. The vision and depth of that document was projected to catapult the state on to a trajectory of development envisaged to last four years. This helped the old Sokoto, split from today’s Niger state, that was born not too long after he left office.
Like Governor Tambuwal who is friend of Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, Alhaji Faruk befriended his old Rivers counterpart and the current Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, Chief Alfred Diete Spiff. A true patriot, he celebrated the end of the Nigerian Civil War, positing that its end was the “triumph of truth and valour over greed and ambition.”
Alhaji Faruk will also be remembered for his canvassing support for the development of national security, especially the Nigerian Police in which he served meritoriously. He advocated for the Force’s adequate funding, arguing that the poor pay and dilapidated equipment of the police could not be justified, thus the rise in the state of insecurity in the country, which claimed the life of his sixth son, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, who was killed by Boko Haram insurgents.
Taking cue from the late Sardauna long after he left office, Alhaji Faruk sank his energy into calling for the establishment of a commodity marketing board in the North. He wanted such a board to have dual responsibilities of fixing and controlling the prices of produce and animals such as cows, goats and sheep.
In addition, he thought the board should also be responsible for the preservation of produce at times of need and establish processing companies for perishable produce such as tomatoes and other vegetables.
A devout faithful, he was of the view that “no good Muslim will ever accept any human directive which contravenes the laws of Allah,” just as he kicked against the proliferation of abortion drugs and contraceptives, which he said would lead to “an earthquake of moral laxity,” if left unchecked.
On behalf of the government and good people of Sokoto state, I wish to condole the government and good people of Gombe state for this huge loss.
I also express our sympathy to his respected family, while praying to Allah to grant them the courage to bear the irreparable loss.
No doubt, the North has lost one of its fundamental pillars. We pray to Allah (SWT) to grant him Aljanna Firdausi.
Dan’Iya (Walin Sokoto) is acting Governor Sokoto State
